It pays to own a young and virile Murrah buffalo bull in Haryana. Farmers of the state are slowly taking to earning extra income by selling buffalo bull semen by adopting modern artificial insemination (AI) procedure.
With its origins in Haryana, the Murrah buffalo is considered one of the best breeds for milk production in the world. Ironically, just three decades earlier, the buffalo bull was almost neglected in the state as it was considered economically unviable.
Naresh Kumar, 26, a resident of Buddhakhera village of Kaithal, has turned down several offers of lakhs of rupees for selling his 4-year-old buffalo bull. And with good reasons too.
“I have a regular income from the sale of semen and have earned 10 lakh in the last six months by selling it,” he said. His bull, incidentally, was adjudged the Murrah breed champion and best animal in a recent livestock show.
(Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda patting a Murrah buffalo during a state-level
livestock show in Jhajjar. HT File Photo)
For culling semen, Kumar takes his bull to a private semen bank in Ghaziabad where the process for preparation of semen straws is carried out in a scientific manner. He puts up the semen straws for sale at the elite buffalo breeders’ house where they sale it at the rate of 300 per straw.
{{/usCountry}}For culling semen, Kumar takes his bull to a private semen bank in Ghaziabad where the process for preparation of semen straws is carried out in a scientific manner. He puts up the semen straws for sale at the elite buffalo breeders’ house where they sale it at the rate of 300 per straw.
{{/usCountry}}“However, the production cost for one straw is about 65,” he said.
Dr Rajinder Singh, senior extension specialist, said “the department of animal husbandry organises livestock shows, calf rallies and milk competition and also educates the buffalo breeders on quality animal rearing”.
Karambir Kumar, 45, of Sunari Kalan village of Kurukshetra also sells buffalo semen prepared in collaboration with the Central Institute of Research on Buffalo, Hisar.
Talking to HT, he said he has two prized bull namely Karambir-1 and Karambir-2 and earns over 20 lakh per annum by selling their semen.